Of Crosses And Swords: Trouble at Sea
After sending a telegraph to Bogo and Lionheart about the start of their search, Judy and Nick were ready to solve the case. The two went to the docks near Thames, where an old friend of Nick lived. “We have to be careful. Some might be following us”, Judy thought. “I can feel when they are, and now they aren´t”, Nick assured. The rabbit didn´t know what to think of Nick´s powers yet. She had believed in science all her life, but what she had seen of the fox do, there was no way of explaining that to her. Nick had an aura of mystery around him, but on that aura was also an air of charisma, charm and even kindness. He seemed like the kind of person Judy would listen to and follow. At the dock, the two saw a large ship ready for sail, and its captain on the pier. He was a friendly, chubby cheetah who was smoking a pipe. “Clawhauser! How are you doing, you old sea cat?” Nick greeted his friend. “Nick! Haven´t seen you in a while. What brings you and this fair young rabbit here?” the cheetah asked. “I´m Dr Judy Hopps from British Museum. We need your help to solve a case. Can you tell where this came from?” she showed the suspicious cork. “Hmm… this is from a bottle of rare Irish whiskey that seems to be very popular among shady folks around here. Last time I saw someone buy these, it was a jackrabbit with striped fur. Don´t know why he bought that whiskey specifically”, Clawhauser told. Judy gasped. Her archenemy Jack Savage was in cahoots with the mysterious “Professor”. She realized that the cork was left as a mark wherever the latter committed his crimes, and Jack had stolen the cross. “Did you see where that guy went?” Nick asked. “No…but I did see him today again. He bought tickets to another ship that´s headed for India. It´s on the other side of the river”, Clawhauser explained. “We have to stop him”, Judy said. As they finally found the other dock, Nick helped Judy enter the ship as a stowaway. The two sneaked to the hold, where the fox led them to an alcove. Suddenly, Judy heard footsteps. “Somebody´s coming! We got to hide!” she said. “Allow me”, Nick said. In a flash, he had hid both of them under a sheet. “How did you do that?” Judy was amazed by this trick. “It was the first circus trick I ever did by using genuine magic. I did it when I was young and just learning my skills. By doing that I took my first step into a larger world”, Nick explained. The two went silent as two other figures entered the hold. “Everything is proceeding as planned, Jack”, Bellwether told her partner in crime. “You sure the second cross is in India? This big travel better be worth it”, he asked. “There are more crosses?” Judy wondered. “Of course. I know the lore more than well, and I´ve been studying the artifacts almost a decade. The cross was brought in here as loot during the crusades, where it was eventually sold to the ancestor of the current Maharajah. It´s a part of the family treasure now”, the sheep told. Nick gulped. There was something incredibly familiar about Bellwether to her. He hadn´t seen her in the flesh, but had felt her presence before. The fact that their enemies were looking for all the crosses also worried him, because he too had heard the myth that whoever possessed them all would be all powerful, like the mightiest sorcerer. “Hope you and Ratigan haven´t gone insane. I don´t believe in fairy tales”, Jack told. “I can make you believe if you disobey us. Soon the crosses will be all in our possession, making us unstoppable”, Bellwether glared at him menacingly. Suddenly, Judy stumbled a bit nervously, causing their cover to get blown. “Well, well, well, what have we here? The little girl playing an archeologist yet again”, Jack taunted. “You´re taking this too far, Jack. The artifacts you are stealing are dangerous in wrong hands like yourself”, Judy said as Jack threatened her with a sword. “They are…but nobody will know if you won´t live to tell the tale”, he said. Judy tried to escape, but Bellwether managed to lock the door by just looking at it. It seemed she had powers similar to Nick too. Fortunately Nick threw his umbrella at Judy, where a sword had been hidden. It had been one of his props at circus acts, and his main defense without magic. Even though Judy fought bravely with it against Jack, it wasn´t easy. She was more used to handling a gun, so it was an uphill battle. Suddenly, the boat started rocking intensely, causing the four inside to almost topple. A heavy storm was brewing on the outside, and the boat wasn´t exactly the strongest for weather like that. Judy´s enemy realized the situation and stopped the duel. “You still put up a good fight Judy, but I can´t waste time in this. I´ve got a fortune to make”, Jack and Bellwether left the ship on a lifeboat. Soon after that, Nick and Judy broke down the locked door with his umbrella sword and managed to get to the deck. It was raining like hell on the outside and the sails were almost destroyed. “Come! There´s only one more lifeboat left! It´s our only hope”, Judy noticed. As the fox and the rabbit landed down on the lifeboat from the ship, Nick stumbled and fell into the cold water. Judy threw a rope to him as he climbed back up. “Thank you for saving me”, he shivered from the cold. “Thanks for helping me with this too”, Judy handed him the umbrella sword back. “It has saved my life on many occasions. One of my worthiest family heirlooms”, Nick nodded. He was impressed by Judy´s bravery on the ship, even though she seemed outnumbered against Jack. For a person who had lived rather alone in the Wilde household after losing his father, Judy had been one of the most trustworthy mammals he had ever met, and she seemed to genuinely care about him too. The dangerous journey was far from over, but the two were glad they wouldn´t be facing it alone. Days passed on the sea until the two finally arrived to India. During the journey on the sea, Nick and Judy had talked to each other more, and it was very clear already that the two had each other´s full trust. Nick had also warned her of what the villains could do when all of the trinkets were in their possession, which made them more determined to stop their plan. Their boat eventually came to the shores of Bombay. Judy and Nick left the lifeboat and entered the city, trying to keep a low profile. “The two talked about the Maharajah, do you know anything about him?” Nick asked. “Yes, I´ve heard something. His current name is Fangmayer, and he has the finest collection of artifacts all over the globe in this country. Getting into there won´t be easy though, and we have to avoid running into those two crooks again. We have to find the rest of the crosses before they do”, Judy told. Nick remembered something. “One of my childhood friends is in here, among the British troops. His name is Finnick, and he could help us in gaining access to the palace”, the fox said. “Do you trust him?” Judy asked. “Sure. Incognito is his speciality, and he´s in good terms with important folk around here”, Nick told. Judy smiled at him. The fox kept on surprising him more and more. She had met many mysterious folk in her life, but nobody else had this kind of impact on her. It was like she was not just fascinated with him, but also attracted to him. Still, she put these thoughts aside for a moment. They had work to do. “Great. We must find him and have him help us get to the Maharajah before Jack and the sheep find the cross”, Judy decided. “So be it”, the fox nodded. The archaeologist and the magician kept strolling through the bustling bazaars of the city, looking for the fennec. It wouldn´t take long until they´d find the first Celtic cross. Category:Of Crosses And Swords series Category:Victorian Era stories Category:Fantasy adventure stories Category:Stories not in the Zootopia universe